"The agency said the probe seeks to determine whether Fox News, CNN, ABC, CBS and NBC violated antitrust laws. It marks a sharp escalation in the Trump administration’s use of its powers against perceived enemies in the press."
"The Justice Department is investigating five major television networks for potential antitrust violations, the department’s top spokesperson said Saturday night, as the Trump administration’s battle with the mainstream press intensifies.
The networks — ABC, CBS, CNN, Fox News and NBC — had collectively suspended pooled coverage of the White House last month after President Donald Trump banned CNN, along with MS NOW and Politico, from White House grounds. The networks later resumed pool coverage of the president after a federal judge ordered the White House to restore access to the three targeted outlets. Separate tussles have continued over the issue of whether the White House can bar CNN and others from participating in pool coverage on Air Force One.
The White House pool is a cost-sharing system in which the networks rotate the duty of collecting footage of the president’s daily activities and distributing it to other outlets. The pool’s decision to suspend coverage meant that major TV networks did not carry footage of several major White House events, including Trump’s ceremonious airport greeting of President Xi Jinping of China."
Perry Stein, Miriam Waldvogel and Scott Nover report for the Washington Post October 10, 2026.
SEE ALSO:
"Justice Probe Into TV Networks Rests On Thin Legal Grounds, Legal Experts Say" (Washington Post)
Editorial: "A Fresh Reason To Unplug Federal Censorship Commission" (Washington Post)
